Sacred Sites of the United States

Alaska
Mt. McKinley (Denali)
Mt. St. Elias
Sitka National Park, Tongass Island

Arizona
Ribbon Falls, Grand Canyon
Mount Graham
I’ito (Montezuma’s Head), Pima County
‘Oks Daha (Old Woman Sitting), Pima County
Mt. Humphreys (Doko O Sliid)
Canyon de Chelly ruins
Mt. Baboquivari
Meteor Crater
Mt. Newberry (Yuman sacred mountain)
Black Mesa, Hopi reservation
Superstition mountains
Zuni sacred lake at junction of Little Colorado and Zuni rivers

Arkansas
Hot Springs National Park

California
Mt. Shasta
Mt. Tamalpais
Mt. Diablo
San Jacinto
Mt. Lassen
Joshua Tree national monument
Mt. Cuchama (Tecate)
Soldier mountain (Simolaki mountain, sacred to Ajumawi Indians)
Conception Point, near Santa Barbara (Chumash sacred site)

Colorado
Indian Burial Rock, El Paso County
Great Sand Dunes
Mt. Blanca (Sisnajini)
Mt. Hesperus (Dibe’ Nitsaa)
Pagosa Springs
Island Lake, La Plata Mountains

Florida
Crystal River mounds
Panther mound, Everglades
Mount Royal mounds
Lake Jackson mounds, near Tallahassee

Georgia
Stone Mountain
Ocmulgee Park
Etowah mounds, Cartersville

Hawaii
Haleakala volcano, Maui
Mauna Kea volcano, Hawaii
Piilanihale Heiau temple, Maui
Moku’ula, Maui, Hawaii
Iao Valley, Maui, Hawaii
Mo’ okini Luakini Heiau, Hawaii
Pu’ uhonua O Honaunau, Honauna Bay, Hawaii
Mt. Kilauea, Hawaii (birthplace of Pele, goddess of volcanoes)
Kaulu Paoa Heiau, Kauia Island

Idaho
Smoking Place, Bitterroot Mountains
Heart of the Monster, Nez Perce holy place, Clearwater River, near Klamath

Illinois
Monks mound, Cahokia, near Collinsville
Kincaid mounds

Indiana
Mounds State Park
Angel mounds

Iowa
Effigy mounds national monument, Marquette
Bear mound

Louisiana
Poverty Point mound, Epps
Watson Brake mound, near Monroe
Natchez mounds
Tchefuncte mounds
Marksville mounds, near Monroe

Maine
Mt. Katahdin

Michigan
Norton mounds
Sleeping Bear Dunes, near Empire

Minnesota
Pipestone Quarry, Pipestone National Monument
Jeffers Petroglyph site, Jeffers

Mississippi
Emerald mound, Tupelo

Montana
Medicine Tree site, Ravalli county
Annashisee Lisaxpuatahcheeashiee (Big Horn Medicine Wheel)
Chief Mountain, Montana (Mt. Ninaistakis; sacred to Blackfeet Indians)
Giant Springs
Sweetgrass Hills

Nebraska
Pahuk Pawnee hill, north of Cedar bluffs, eastern Nebraska

Nevada
Cave Rock, Douglas county
Spirit Mountain (Avi Kwa ‘Ame), Clark county
Avikwa’ame (Spirit mountain), Grapevine Canyon, Laughlin (Yuman sacred place)

New Hampshire
Mt. Washington
Mystery Hill, Salem

New Mexico
Mt. Taylor (Tsoodzil), New Mexico
Chaco Canyon Anasazi ruins, New Mexico
White Sands dunes, New Mexico
Chimayo church, New Mexico
Ute Mountain, New Mexico
Blue Lake, New Mexico
Gobernador Nob, New Mexico
Shiprock, New Mexico
Mt. Huerfano, New Mexico
Truchas Peaks, New Mexico
Chicoma Mountain, New Mexico (Tewa sacred mountain)
Mt. Conjilon, New Mexico
Mt. Capitan, New Mexico (Mescalero Apache sacred mountain)
Mt. San Augustin, New Mexico (Mescalero Apache sacred mountain)
Mt. Salinas, New Mexico (Mescalero Apache sacred mountain)
Hosta Butte (‘Ak’i Dah Nast’ani’) south of Chaco Canyon
Bandelier Nat. Monument; Stone Lion shrines of Yapashi, near Running Eagle Falls
Petroglyphs National Monument, New Mexico

New York
Mt. Marcy
Balanced Rock, North Salem
Shrine of Birthplace of Kateria Tekakwitha, Auriesville
Shrine of Illumination of Kateria Tekakwitha, Fonda

North Carolina
Mt. Richland-Balsam
Pilot mountain

Ohio
Serpent Mound, Ohio

Oklahoma
Antelope and Buffalo springs, Arbuckle mountains
Spiro Mounds State Park

Oregon
Wallowa Lake
Wizard Island, Crater Lake
Mt. Hood

South Dakota
Harney Peak
Wind Cave
Buffalo Gap
Mnikata hot springs
Craven canyon
Inyan Kara mountain, Crook County, Black Hills
Bear Butte, South Dakota (Noaha-vose Cheyenne Sacred Mountain)
Bad Lands, South Dakota

Texas
Enchanted Rock, near Fredericksburg
Mt. Guadalupe (Mescalero Apache sacred mountain)

Utah
Hovenweep ruins
Mt. Zion

Washington
Mount Adams
Snoqualmie Falls
Mt. Ranier (Tacoma), Washington

West Virginia
Moundsville

Wisconsin
Aztalan mound, Lake Mills
Temple mounds
Blue Mound State Park

Wyoming
Old Baldy
Devil’s Tower
Big Horn Medicine Wheel, near Lovell

Martin Gray is a cultural anthropologist, writer and photographer specializing in the study of pilgrimage traditions and sacred sites around the world. During a 40 year period he has visited more than 2000 pilgrimage places in 165 countries. The World Pilgrimage Guide at sacredsites.com is the most comprehensive source of information on this subject.

For detailed information and locations regarding many of the above places consult the following books:

  • Sacred Places of North America; Brad Olsen
  • Field Guide to Mysterious Places of the West; Salvatore Trento
  • Sacred Sites: A Guidebook to Sacred Centers and Mysterious Places in the United States; Frank Joseph
  • Sacred Places in North America; Courtney Milne
  • Sacred Sites: A Traveler’s Guide to North America’s Most Powerful, Mystical Landmarks; Natasha Peterson
  • Sacred Sites of the West; Bernyce Barlow
  • Sacred Sites of the West: A Guide to Mystical Centers; Frank Joseph
  • Shrines of Our Lady; Peter Mullen
  • The Secrets and Mysteries of Hawaii; Pila of Hawaii
  • In Plain Sight; Gloria Farley
  • New England’s Ancient Mysteries; Robert E. Cahill
  • Mysterious Ancient America; Paul Devereux
  • America B.C: Ancient Settlers in the New World; Barry Fell
  • Saga America; Barry Fell
  • Manitou: The Sacred Landscape of New England’s Native Civilization; James W. Mavor & Byron Dix
  • Hidden Cities: The Discovery and Loss of North American Civilization; Roger G. Kennedy
  • Long Before Columbus: How The Ancients Discovered America; Hans Holzer
  • Canyon Country Prehistoric Rock Art; F.A. Barnes
  • How the Sun God Reached America c.2500 BC: A Guide to Megalithic Sites; Reinoud M. de Jonge & Jay S. Wakefield
  • Living the Sky: The Cosmos of the American Indian; Ray A. Williamson
  • Native American Astronomy; Anthony F. Aveni
  • The Spiritual Awakening of the Great Smoky Mountains; Page Bryant
  • Atlas of the Mysterious in North America; Rosemary Ellen Guiley